Raven

That's not official yet, but it wouldn't surprise me - three series is about par for most of the New Who Doctors. Both Whittaker series so far have been 10 episodes and a special, the next series is 8 episodes because of COVID (the last two Capaldi series were 12 episodes and a special, by contrast). Whittaker has grown on me since her first series, but she's still far from being my favourite Doctor; I just wonder what they will do next... Going back to a man will prompt calls of the Doctor didn't work as a woman, but going for another woman will attract calls of political correctness gone mad - I don't think the BBC will win whatever they do! (for my own part, as long as they are competent, I don't care what sex they are!)

They're not much different; they've just changed the fonts on the spines and front covers. If you look at this page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Times-Penguin-Classics-Charles-Dickens/dp/014143967X You can see the new style in the product picture and you can compare it to the old style by clicking on the Look Inside link.

Not sure. I was looking at The Pickwick Papers recently, but I've noticed that Penguin seem to be rebranding their classics range again so I've held off buying a copy. I have a copy of Great Expectations, and I have also tried reading Moby Dick a couple of times, perhaps this might be the year I finally finish it! I've also been meaning to read Dracula and Frankenstein as well, so who knows!

I think Moffat's first two series were fine, the third was disjointed with one half being shown one year (with the exit of Rory and Amy), a Christmas special and then the second half of the series, which introduced Clara, being shown the following year. Capaldi's series were a bit of a mixed bag, but the writing - for the most part - was still good and his last series, which Moffat wasn't originally supposed to be doing (I believe he took it on so that Chibnall could finish Broadchurch) was actually quite good. Chibnall's shows have had the best production values by far, but the stories have largely been flat. The last series had some good moments, and it is going in the right direction, we'll just have to see what happens later this year.

Well, I managed to squeeze in a new Rivers of London graphic novel at the end of the year to get my total to 14 for the year, but that still feels like failure given the way things have spun out this year... I don't really do New Year's resolutions, but I will make some book related ones now for 2021: - I will read more than I did in 2020 - All of the books I read in 2021 will be new to me - One of the new books I read in 2021 will be a classic novel

I really liked Graham/Bradley Walsh, and I thought Ryan/Tosin Cole worked well for the set up they've had for the last two years, but the last two series have been far from being Doctor Who's best and I lay the blame for that squarely at Chris Chibnall's door (this has nothing to do with the Doctor being female, by the way, it is about the show under his direction lacking the polish and sense of fun it had under Davis and Moffat). It was good to see Jack back last night...

I've come across this as well and it applies to both forum and external links. You cannot use your own text as a link, but if you paste a link into your post/signature it does work (it's not pretty, but you can update it again after the pending forum update/move).

The prequels are dreadful films. Hayden Christensen, Natalie Portman and even Ewan McGregor all turn in fairly wooden performances (my suspicion is that is because a large part of all three films was shot against green screen and they where acting against ping-pong balls on sticks most of the time). It also doesn't excuse the story choices Lucas made when writing the films. The Clone Wars series are better, but it tends to get a little repetitive in places (I'm working my way through them as well, and trying to stick with it as it and Rebels set up the background for a lot of what has happened in The Mandalorian). Watched the latest episode of Discovery last night, nothing more to add to what I said above! Last episode next week, then I can cancel Netflix again until the next series of Stranger Things.

Happy New Year everyone! May 2021 be a vast improvement on what shall henceforth be termed "The Year We Shall Not Speak of Again". May all your book choices be good ones!

John Bishop? Didn't see that one coming! Not really seen him do anything other than stand-up, so I don't have any opinion of him as an actor. Given New Who has form when it comes to making unexpected choices for new companions, I'll wait until I've seen him in the show before passing judgement!

I've not been very impressed with the two most recent Star Trek series. I really enjoyed series one of Discovery, especially after the plot twist they dropped half way through, and I really enjoyed Anson Mount playing Captain Pike in series two, but this year - with two episodes left to go(?) - has been a bit of a mess. The 32nd century could have been really interesting; a future without Star Fleet or the Federation, with Discovery and her crew struggling to find their place in this new universe, but within a few episodes they are back in the fold and it's business as usual. The Burn could have led to something interesting too, but the cause of that (as revealed last week) was a massive anti-climax (unless it was misdirection... I've not seen this week's episode yet!). For a series that seems to be character driven, it is also oddly lacking in actual character growth, unless that character is Michael Burnham (or, to a lesser extend, Saru). I also don't like the way she has to be at the centre of events all the time; I really like Sonequa Martin-Green, she has done a great job in the role, but there are other characters in the show who should be getting more to do. I also don't remember people in the earlier versions of Star Trek crying as much as they do in Discovery. The writers seem to be using it as a way of underlining a point ("Look! They learnt something! You can tell, because they are crying!"). As for Picard, that only really worked for me when it was playing on nostalgia for TNG; the rest of the story and the new crew were utterly forgettable (other shows have done the ill-matched crew with shady pasts thing much better and, sadly, they did it a very long time ago - which makes Picard look dated trying to attempt it - couldn't they have come up with a different dynamic?). Whilst it was great to see the old crew members again, I also felt that Picard himself had lost his authority; there were times when it was more like watching Grampa Simpson in space, than one of Star Fleet's finest. I only watched Picard as the episodes came out, though, so I may go back and watch it again at some point.

Best film line up of the week and the best weather day this week as well. Typical.

When I was very young (eight or nine) there was a picture book in my school library that was about mice (you know, the usual thing for kids picture books, they were dressed up as soldiers or something...), but I have no idea what it was called or even what the story was at this point. I remember going to take it out again at one point and not being allowed too because I was the last person who had it out - although I'm sure it was weeks or even months before. I'd like to know what it was, but I don't think there is a practical way of finding out what it was at this distance. Past that, I read very little until I was sixteen, and I cannot think of anything that I would have deemed a favourite until much later.

It's not like I'm a long way into double digits myself!

Merry Christmas, everyone! Hope you all have a great day!

They are filming series 3 of The Mandalorian as soon as *this* finishes filming. There is a raft of Marvel stuff coming out over the next year, though. I don't think I'll get bored waiting!

So given today was my last day of book browsing liberty - for probably quite a while - I went on a mini spending spree with some money I've been given for Christmas. Between a trip to Waterstones, my local independent book shop and the local comic book shop I picked up the following: Murder by Matchlight, by E.C.R. Lorac The Ten Loves of Mr Nishino, by Hiromi Kawakami I've been meaning to read some of the books from the British Library's Crime collection for a while, so took this opportunity to pick one of them up (Murder by Matchlight). I've also previously read several of Kawakami's books, and am looking forward to this one as well! The Hayling Island Branch, by John Scott-Morgan The Llangollen Line, by W.G. Rear & N. Jones Have I ever mentioned I like railways? I have quite a sizeable collection of railway books, but they've never made it into my reading list (with a couple of exceptions) because they tend to be books I read parts of, rather than the whole (so they never really get finished). In the case of the Hayling Island book, I have walked the remains of this line so many times over the last decade, I can practically do it with my eyes shut. When this book was published last year I knew I had to get a copy so I could see what the line looked like before it was pulled up in the early sixties, so this will be my Christmas day read. The Llangollen Line book was second hand, and was evidently given to someone in 1997. As with quite a few of the railway books I've picked up second hand over the years, I feel like I'm merely a custodian, and that at some point in the - hopefully distant - future, they will end up in someone else's collection (where they will hopefully be enjoyed!) The Fey and the Furious, by Ben Aaronovitch (GN) Rivers of London, say no more! (I was pleased to be able to get this from a local shop, though, rather than having to buy it from Amazon, as I have had to with previous RoL graphic novels).

It really is very good indeed. I love Bogart; he's always played the same role in every film I've seen him in, but he really is a screen icon from the golden age of Hollywood. Studio Ghibli is always worth a re-watch! I've seen a few of them over the various lockdowns we have had this year, and they are so very good (I also found a music of Studio Ghibli concert on YouTube the other day, and it was very good!). They are also all currently on Netflix, if you have a subscription. I can believe that.

Which I am now well into! Deep into series four and my love of these characters and the town of Cicely, Alaska just keeps growing. I was reading the other day that Rob Morrow and others have been trying to get a new series going on one of the streaming channels. If you are reading this Netflix, you can have my money now! Just do it! Missed this at the time... Matt Smith! Best of the new Doctors!* I love his turn in A Christmas Carol; one of the best takes on the Dickens story for years! *Though they are all good! This will be happening this week! Plan to start tomorrow or on Christmas Day, not sure yet!

Never read them myself, but there is a stack of Terry Goodkind novels going for 99p today on the Kindle. As is Dune, Frank Herbert's classic tale of sand and drugs.

Did you watch right to the end of the credits, by the way?

The last three films I have watched were all in black and white. Kind Hearts and Coronets and Sink the Bismark! on Sunday and Casablanca this afternoon. Not seen the latter in years, and was struck by just how stunning Ingrid Bergman was in her day (that, or I've been indoors too long...) Tomorrow afternoon, I am heartened to see that Jason and the Argonauts is on Channel 5 - classic Christmas Eve viewing when I was a kid! It's up against the sci-fi classic This Island Earth on Horror, though... (I have both on DVD, this is very much a first world problem...).

No it's not! (Die Hard hasn't been on yet!)

I very nearly posted: You got Ravenclaw, didn't you? (its all those books you've read this year!)

Book 13 of the year done and dusted. 13? This year of all years I should be in the 30s! What the hell happened?